A legal checklist for buying property

First thing I would say is don’t rush, learn about things, buying a house is one of the biggest decision (at least financial) you will make in your life and you will commit your lifetime of cash flows in it. Planning things well in advance and doing your investigation will lead to smoother and successful execution. Your chances of making wrong purchase or a bad purchase will be minimized if you take time and do your investigation well enough. Just for an example , You buy a house , you do your basic investigation and the house was available at very very attractive price, and gives you a hope of making 100% profit in 2-3 yrs and suppose later you come to know that everything was fine, however the construction quality is not that great and have been compromised. You really don’t want to get into that situation because first point is that if its your first home , you probably be planning to get settled there and wont move out once you are in your comfort zone and once things settle down like your office is very near , your children schools are there and you feel good there.

Every decision you take is your decision. we Indian’s are emotional, we shy away from talking direct and think too much about feelings, relations and how others will think? We make oral promises and also rely on them many times. There is nothing wrong in asking straight questions and questioning each and every step when you buy anything, because Damn! , its my money and its me who will suffer if things go wrong . So make sure you go through a detailed checklist because you buy a house or any other real estate property . Here are some from my side.

  • Patta Verification
  • Guideline Value
  • Demand at least EC for minimum 15 years
  • Check the Property Tax recipt till date & name
  • if the Seller is a power Agent check weather he has all the rights to sell the property
  • Check that the plot is approved by Panchayats/CMDA/DTCP/MMDA
  • Check that the property belongs to which zone (Resi/Agri/Comm/Aquifier/Non-Resi/industrial/Special)
  • Check that the property had undergone any hier purchase, mortgage, loan, if so NOC from the concern department
  • Check that the plot can be approved for residential purpose in case of unapproved
  • Verify the documents with a legal Advocate
  • Check the documents with a Banker for Loan Possibility (without patta & Approval loan is not possible)
  • Don’t agree for any Oral Agreement , Never !
  • Check that the Layout has been allotted OSR Area ( temple, school, park, shop ) or else the owner has to pay 10% of the land value to the Government for approval. Only if the layout exceeds 3000sqm,32258sqft,74Cents.
  • Insure that the Plot is minimum 500 meter away from National Highway, Sewage Cannal, Sea Shore, River, Pond, Lakes, Dam, Airport, Busstand, Railwaystation, Nuculear Power Station, industries.
  • The Registration Stamp Duty charge will be 8% of land value and 1% as Registration fees and Misc Charge extra.
  • The Road Width defines the no of floor you can build, in case there is Airport near by you can get only G+1 permit
  • The Zone type and the Road Width defines how much area you can build, in case Aquafier Recharge Zone you can get only 0.8 FSI wherels in residential Zone you get 1.5 FSI
  • Check the frontage length of the plot.
  • Check the type of ground soil.
  • Check the type of ground water.
  • In case of corner plot check the shortage area.
  • Check the roadlevel height and rain water stagnating
  • Check for Vastu ( it will be better if it is east faceing and rectangle in shape ) , if you believe in it.
  • Check weather Drainage faculty is there.
  • Have a detail conversation with the landowners near by and always have touch with them.
  • It is Mandatory to have the complete details of the property seller including his photograph.
  • If the plot is near by Burial Ground the value will get low.
  • Other Essential Facility Nearby & Need to Know are Schools , Collages , Busstand , Railway Station , Ration shop etc. Understand that you need all these for next many decades , so are they 2-3 Km away or 10 Km away can become one of the biggest deciding factors
  • Make sure you have address and phone numbers of all the relevent and concerned offices like Panchayats Office , V.O Office, R.I Office, Tahsildar office , Register Office,EB Office , Court , Police Station, Post Office